Why Kids With Autism May Avoid Eye Contact
Posted on May 11, 2023
| 3 minutes
| 564 words
| Mittie Cheatwood
Children with autism often have difficulty making eye contact, and now a new study suggests this may be due in part to how their brains process visual information, rather than being purely a social deficit.
In the study, children with autism showed activity over a larger area of the brain's cortex when an image was placed in the periphery of their visual field, compared with when the image was placed in the center of their visual field.
[Read More]'Magic Mushroom' Drug Psilocybin May Ease Pain of Rejection
Posted on May 10, 2023
| 3 minutes
| 459 words
| Mittie Cheatwood
The hallucinogen found in "magic mushrooms" may help ease the pain of feeling rejected or left out of a group, a small new study suggests.
In the study, 21 healthy people were given a small dose of psilocybin, a hallucinogenic compound found in certain mushroom species. They then had their brains scanned while they played an online game in which they were made to feel socially excluded.
During this game, people reported feeling less social pain when they received psilocybin, compared with when they received a placebo, or "
[Read More]11 Biggest Science Stories of 2011
Posted on May 10, 2023
| 4 minutes
| 829 words
| Patria Henriques
Science 2011From the last space shuttle mission and spotting Earth-size planets orbiting another star to the possible detection of the elusive Higgs boson particle and some extreme (and very costly) weather, 2011 was filled with science, albeit sometimes disastrous. Here are 11 of the most compelling and significant science stories to break this year.
Tough TimesThe U.S. may have exited the recession this year, but the amount of time Americans go without work has reached a record level.
[Read More]6 Reasons Astrobiologists Are Holding Out Hope for Life on Mars
Posted on May 10, 2023
| 2 minutes
| 251 words
| Patria Henriques
On Earth, carbon and hydrogen are everywhere. In fact, 75% of your body (excluding water) is composed of these two elements.They make up everything from our DNA to our cell walls. We call these chemicals "organic" — and life as we know it on Earth wouldn't exist without them.
So in 1984, when scientists found a Martian meteorite in Antarctica crawling with organic chemicals, their discovery raised an interesting question: Did the organic chemicals come from life?
[Read More]Ancient Sea Monsters Were No Shrimps
Posted on May 10, 2023
| 4 minutes
| 809 words
| Arica Deslauriers
Bizarre shrimp-like monsters that were the world's largest predators for millions of years grew even larger and survived much longer than thought, scientists find.
The creatures, known as anomalocaridids, were giant predators (ranging from 2 to possibly 6 feet in length) with soft-jointed bodies and toothy maws with spiny limbs in front to snag worms and other prey. [Image of the ancient sea monster]
"They were really at the top of the food chain,"
[Read More]Anorexia Might Be a Disease Like Diabetes, Scientists Speculate
Posted on May 10, 2023
| 4 minutes
| 733 words
| Trudie Dory
Anorexia may be a disorder more of the metabolism than the mind, according to a new paper that argues the disease is a sort of cousin of diabetes.
But this theory of anorexia as a fundamentally biological disorder, rather than a psychological one, is untested, psychiatrists warn, and patients with the disease should not stray from proven treatments.
The review of past research on the topic, published in the June issue of the journal Molecular Psychiatry, finds that certain genetic and cellular processes get activated during starvation in organisms ranging from yeast to fruit flies to mice to humans.
[Read More]Birth Control Effectiveness Linked to Weight
Posted on May 10, 2023
| 4 minutes
| 669 words
| Patria Henriques
Several studies have called into question the effectiveness of birth control in obese and overweight women — results that are particularly concerning in light of the recent U.S. obesity epidemic.
Now, a recent review article, which examined the results of seven studies on the success of hormonal contraceptives, concludes that the situation might be more complex. Some birth control methods, such as the pill, might be less effective in obese women, while others, such as those given using a shot, might work just as well.
[Read More]Cyber Monday deal: save $295 on the Marcy Foldable Rower
Posted on May 10, 2023
| 3 minutes
| 492 words
| Trudie Dory
There is another chance to get one of the best rowing machine deals this Cyber Monday — get a massive 49% off the Marcy Foldable Rower(opens in new tab) on Amazon. This saves you an oar-some $295 on the usual price of this quality rowing machine. This deal was so popular, the Marcy Foldable Turbine Rower went out of stock on Amazon over Black Friday, but now you have a second chance to pick up this bargain.
[Read More]Dystextia: Garbled Phone Text May Be Sign of a Stroke
Posted on May 10, 2023
| 3 minutes
| 635 words
| Fernande Dalal
A woman's garbled text message to her son had an underlying message: She was having a stroke.
Her case, published last month in the journal BMJ Case Reports, is now the fourth reported incident in which garbled texting, similar to slurred speech, was a symptom of a stroke. Doctors are calling this a new phenomenon.
Clumsy thumbs and devious auto-correction aside, the inability to write a coherent text message is called dystextia, and it was first described as medical symptom in 2006, seen in people with migraine headaches.
[Read More]Earth from Space: New 'Blue Marble' Photo Is Jaw-Dropping
Posted on May 10, 2023
| 2 minutes
| 271 words
| Patria Henriques
A new weather satellite has relayed its first images of Earth back to scientists, and the new collection, which includes an updated version of the iconic "Blue Marble" image of Earth, is simply stunning.
The satellite, dubbed GOES-16, is designed to snap high-definition images of the continental United States every 5 minutes and the full Earth every 15 minutes, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). These photos will help meteorologists monitor weather patterns with greater precision.
[Read More]